Step 7: Approve and deploy WSUS updates

In this step, you approve an update for any computers in the test group for WSUS 3.0 SP2. Computers in the group automatically contact the WSUS server over the next 24 hours to obtain the update. You can use the WSUS reporting feature to determine whether those updates were deployed to the test computers. When the tests are successfully completed, you can then approve the updates for the applicable computer groups in your organization.

On the WSUS Administration Console, click Updates. An update status summary is displayed for All Updates, Critical Updates, Security Updates, and WSUS Updates.

In the All Updates section, click Updates needed by computers.

On the list of updates, select the updates that you want to approve for installation on your test computer group. Information about a selected update is available in the bottom pane of the Updates panel. To select multiple contiguous updates, hold down the SHIFT key while clicking updates; to select multiple noncontiguous updates, press down the CTRL key while clicking updates.

Right-click the selection and click Approve.

In the Approve Updates dialog box, select your test group, and then click the down arrow.

Click Approved for Install and then click OK.

The Approval Progress window appears which shows progress of the tasks that affect update approval. When approval is completed, click Close.

After 24 hours, you can use the WSUS Reports feature to determine whether the updates were deployed to the test group computers.

If you want to filter the list of updates, select the criteria that you want to use, for example, Include updates in these classifications, and then click Run Report on the window's toolbar.

You will see the Updates Report pane. You can check the status of individual updates by selecting the update in the left section of the pane. The last section of the report pane shows the status summary of the update.

You can save or print this report by clicking the applicable icon on the toolbar.

After you test the updates, you can approve the updates for installation on the applicable computer groups in your organization.